Harley Davidson Case Study

Harley Davidson was founded in Milwaukie, Wisconsin in 1903, and has been manufacturing motorcycles continuously since conception (Harley Davidson DVD, 2008). The company is now one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and controls 26% of all motorcycle sales in the USA, and a massive 50% of the heavyweight segment (Armstrong & Kotler, p129). The Harley Davidson name is an incredibly strong brand in the world today. Not many people in western culture could hear the name Harley Davidson and not conjure up thoughts of the powerful, throaty sounding machines carrying their riders across the country. One rider describes the feeling of freedom a Harley Davidson motorcycle inspires as having “the road to yourself” (Harley Davidson DVD, 2008). It is the perceptions and images of the Harley Davidson products and performance that form the underlying strength of the brand (Armstrong & Kotler, 2010, p210).

Armstrong and Kotler (2010, p214) suggest that there are 3 factors involved in the creation of a strong brand: attributes, benefits, and beliefs and values. Although attributes and benefits can be easily copied by competitors (and in the case of Harley Davidson, there are many competitors in the heavyweight motorcycle industry with similar products), it is the beliefs and values of consumers that really build the strongest brands.   But, in today’s market, even the strongest of brands need to be carefully managed to ensure that it maintains its value to the most important consumers – the customers.

A value proposition is “the set of beliefs or values it promises to deliver to customers to satisfy its needs” (Armstrong & Kotler, 2010, p9). With this in mind, it appears that the Harley Davidson value proposition begins with the company’s vision statement - “We fulfil dreams inspired by the many roads of the world by providing extraordinary motorcycles and customer experiences. We fuel the passion for freedom in our customers to express their own individuality”... [continues]

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